Growing Strong

Returning to check after more than an decade since first planted, Greenfleet found the Queensland site in excellent condition with trees well exceeding 9 metres in height

2 Nov 2013

Since 2005, AE Smith has planted more than 21,500 native trees in Australia with Greenfleet to offset over 5,500 tonnes CO2-e generated by hundreds of AE Smith vehicles and 1 million kilometres of staff air travel

Part of the Brisbane River catchment area, the O’Sheas Crossing planting site is upstream of Wivenhoe Dam in south east Queensland. The 32 ha site had been grazed heavily in the past, compacting soils and altering natural runoff and water filtration processes.

The Greenfleet forest established between 2004 and 2007 has helped the soil structure to recover, reducing the amount of sediment and nutrients flowing directly into south east Queensland’s biggest water supply storage.

Prior to being cleared for grazing, the site was originally open forest – with Black Tea-Tree and Forest Red Gum the dominant species. Greenfleet have returned these species to the area, along with a selection of minor species such as Weeping Bottlebrush, River Sheoak and Weeping Lilly Pilly to reflect the original species mix.

The trees have been planted to mimic the original planting patterns, with the Lilly Pilly species appearing only on the fringes of the site, while the Black Tea-Tree and Forest Red Gums were planted in much larger quantities right across the planting area.

Greenfleet is a not-for-profit environmental charity that offsets greenhouse gas emissions by planting forests that soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow.